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Hawaii is not a racist state like many mainland states are.
The stories you hear about hawaii racisim usually are from big mouth cry baby white mainlanders who have never expierienced racism before. They are simply expieriencing what everybody else has expierienced all of their lives. Its one of the drawbacks of living in a society with many cultures and races.
We all expierience rasicm from time to time, but nothing as bad as it is on the mainland. Mostly everybody is nice to each other here.
I think you and almost anybody else with a nice attitude would do well in Hawaii. But tell all your bad-attitude mainland friends not to follow you.
I am considering moving to Hawaii this year and have heard all the comments on this board about how multicultural Hawaii is..I am a multiracial. woman..black,white,native-american....and look like a "native"...how do you think I would fair socially?..I am really looking for a "family-type" atmosphere, ev even though I am not married without any children, I hope one day to be...maybe marry a Hawaiian native? what are the men like there?
thanks...Sabrina
Aloha Sabrina,
If you aren't a kanaka maoli, then you are a haole. However, in your case most folks in Hawai'i would consider you to be a haole 'ele'ele (dark-skinned haole) or a popolo (a Hawaiian poetic reference to the berries of the black nightshade plant) because of your African American heritage. How you'd fair socially would most likely depend upon your personality and how adept you are at learning about and adapting to different cultures.
As for marrying a Hawaiian "native," good luck with that.
"Haole, (pronounced: How-leh) in the Hawaiian language, means "foreign" or "foreigner"; it can be used in reference to people, plants, and animals. The origins of the word predate the 1778 arrival of Captain James Cook (which is the general accepted date of first contact with westerners), as recorded in several chants stemming from antiquity.
Haole, in its current definition, first became associated with the children of Caucasian immigrant children in the early 1820s. It unified the self-identity of these Hawai'i-born children whose parents were as much culturally different as they were similar. For Haole children whose first language was Hawaiian, their parents were either religious missionaries or secular businessmen, and hailed from both sides of the Atlantic ocean, not necessarily speaking the same language or English dialect.
With the first three generations of Haole playing key roles in the rise of the economic and political power shifts that lasted through the turn of the 20th century, Haole evolved into a term that was often used in contempt. Though its first usage in such context had to do with classist origins, it has evolved further to racial meaning, erroneously replacing "malihini" (newcomer) in addressing people who move to Hawai'i from the U.S. mainland. Today it is often applied to those who are of Caucasian ancestry, or those who think or behave in a foreign manner.
In current application, Haole is a highly charged word and can be used descriptively or derisively."
Myself, I prefer the newcomer/foreigner interpretation, regardless of color. What say you?
Myself, I prefer the newcomer/foreigner interpretation, regardless of color. What say you?
I agree... But the bottom line is no one should be using these names in a derogatory way. You will never know if someone is a local or haole unless you talk to them and learn their background. I have white friends that were born and raised here as well as friends who "look local" and are straight off a plane. But because of the way they look they are perceived differently... Bottom line is get to know people/neighbors and don't assume! In this day in age anyone can be from anywhere... who cares!!!
I agree... But the bottom line is no one should be using these names in a derogatory way. You will never know if someone is a local or haole unless you talk to them and learn their background. I have white friends that were born and raised here as well as friends who "look local" and are straight off a plane. But because of the way they look they are perceived differently... Bottom line is get to know people/neighbors and don't assume! In this day in age anyone can be from anywhere... who cares!!!
Or just grow thicker skin like all the other non-racist people in the world.
As we all know the biggest racist/bigots in the world are the most touchy, thin-skinned, and also easily insulted people in existance, and that goes for people of any race. Intolerance = racism.
The former posters remark about "Brown skin" makes living here easier, could be taken the wrong way, thing is, it does make it easier in many ways.
I am hispanic. I am from Texas. I speak with a true Texas accent with no trace of hispanic accent in my voice. They know immediately that I am not from here, yet most if not all at first glance say, "Oh, Brah, we thought you one portagee guy"!
If you look like a local, you probably will be accepted as one. If you look more black there is no hope for you anywhere really (I am black so don't send me a bunch of complaints).
People are ignorant here also. Alot of it gets written off as 'Hey, we poke fun at every race so then it's okay, we're not racist/ignorant whatever". The school system I hear from many of my friends with kids is awful. They say the teachers are lazy and the work they give the students is low grade and they worry about their kids being prepared in the future. Hawaii's public schools are ranked very low compared to the rest of the country. Service here is terrible, but improving.
Now good things about Hawaii. Did I mention how ignorant the people are?Okay moving on. The island is beautiful. If you are a person of faith, there are many great churches here to attend. The food is awesome, there is alot to do, the celebration of family, culture, and history is big here. Every Friday people get of work early, like 2 p.m. (pau hana). The island is relaxed, most people are generally friendly, and with some hunting and financial savvy you can find a nice place and live well here.
Good luck!!
Last edited by molihua641; 09-28-2007 at 10:18 PM..
Or just grow thicker skin like all the other non-racist people in the world.
As we all know the biggest racist/bigots in the world are the most touchy, thin-skinned, and also easily insulted people in existance, and that goes for people of any race. Intolerance = racism.
This is the dumbest most backwards thing I have ever heard. Intolerance = racism. So the people who marched in Selma showing their intolerance for getting beaten, raped, lynched, spit on, name called, church bombed, and murdered because of the color of their skin were racist? Are you @#$ing kidding me? How about this....Intolerance = courage to stand up for what is right, intolerance = character, intolerance = I am not going to put up with your ignorant, racist, cruel, uncivilized, sexist, bigoted, discriminative (you can keep filling in the blank) BEHAVOIR. What is it with this thing where reverse discrimination (which doesn't exist, all can discriminate, no matter what the race, sex, creed, gender, etc.) is now a justification for people saying and doing whatever. Its really dangerous because it makes people perpetual victims. I get so tired of everytime I say "hey, don't talk to me that way" or "hey, be professional and keep those thoughts to yourself, they are inappropriate in the workplace" someone trying to pin their hurt pride (because really when you confront such situations all it does is reveal the other party's ignorance and lack of maturity, when you really aren't trying to make an attack of any sort) and guilt on me by saying I'm just too touchy, or intolerant. To that I say grow up and deal. We're not in Selma 1963 anymore.
If you look like a local, you probably will be accepted as one. If you look more black there is no hope for you anywhere really (I am black so don't send me a bunch of complaints). I hate trying to find an apartment out here because most of the landlords (mostly the female philipino ones which are just about all of them) condesend and "worry" about having me in their apartment (note: In my 10 years of living on my own I have been late on the rent once and have always left the place cleaner than I found it.)
People are ignorant here also. Alot of it gets written off as 'Hey, we poke fun at every race so then it's okay, we're not racist/ignorant whatever". The school system I hear from many of my friends with kids is awful. They say the teachers are lazy and the work they give the students is low grade and they worry about their kids being prepared in the future. Hawaii's public schools are ranked very low compared to the rest of the country. Service here is terrible, but improving.
Now good things about Hawaii. Did I mention how ignorant the people are?Okay moving on. The island is beautiful. If you are a person of faith, there are many great churches here to attend. The food is awesome, there is alot to do, the celebration of family, culture, and history is big here. Every Friday people get of work early, like 2 p.m. (pau hana). The island is relaxed, most people are generally friendly, and with some hunting and financial savvy you can find a nice place and live well here.
Good luck!!
somewhere in the world anyone of us could be the butt of ethnic jokes. this doesn't make someone racist. sticks and stones. racism is a completely different ball game as are hate crimes. look at the jena6 situation in lousiana. terrible, terrible, terrible! and, quite frightening! everyone's on edge. hanging nooses from trees, kkk and the white supremacist groups out there. now that sounds like racism and hatemongering to me.
i am a landlord and would not have a problem having you as a tenant provided that your background and credit check came back okay. one of my tenants is an older caucasian woman. in my other house is my family. that's the worst situation to ever be in! omg!!!!!
also, one of my long time friends is black, american indian and caucasian. she is very exotic looking. she married caucasian. her three boys look local.
they're a beautiful family!
That's just the problem. Far too many today see racism as only the extreme acts of hate. Racism and prejudice can go much deeper than that. Yes stick and stones, blah, blah, blah. People are going to say and do dumb stuff and that doesn't mean the receiving party is going to "freak out". The main point is that such jokes, assumptions, and what not are WRONG. Think about it this way, if a man/woman made a sexist jokes about you everyday, but didn't touch you, are they still sexist? Would you still classify that as harrassment? I'm betting you would and honestlly you would be a fool not to. Its the same thing with race, creed, gender, sexual orientation, whatever.
Now, I'm "glad" you have a black, american indian, caucasian friend who is exotic (lol) looking and has a beautiful family. What does that have to do with anything? Plus it only supports my point about Hawaii! Yes any of us could be the butt of jokes anywhere. That was my freakin' point. It just so happens that in this particular part of the world we call Hawaii, people who don't look or sound local have a hard time finding a place, getting good service, and being treated equally. Ask anyone about the job hunting scene. My post is not an insult but a simple statement of fact.
Second, I have no doubt you as a landlord would have no problem taking my rent which they purposely raise every year when they hear the military (another group that is discriminated against and almost hated out here, big time) is getting more BAH (which is to cover the constant price increases). I also know for a fact many landlords on the island change the cost of rent depending on who they are dealing with. I thought this practice was illegal (hmmm)?
My issue is the funky attitude they give me through out the term, the constant condesending questions like I'm a @#$#ing idiot. Their attitude is rooted in assumptions about me based on whatever crazy ideas they have about people who look like me. The truth of the matter is when it comes to racial and social interactions, Hawaii, although not a Jena, LA, their mindset is not too far behind.
Again, my point is Hawaii openly practices predjudice (even with their friends) and is happy to do so under the guise of "Hey, its just jokes". Joking or not, it isn't funny and it isn't right.
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The meanings of Haole
